Let’s Play a Game!

(Insert your favorite image of Jigsaw here.)

Every rare now and again, I have a passion idea that knocks around in my brain and ends up being worked on strictly in my time off. (Evenings, weekends only.) These projects are never accounted for in the publication plans (much to the dismay of those who are waiting for them.)

One such project has come calling, and my designer and I have been working on the cover concepts, and so on.

So, we’re going to play a game. But first, a message from your sponsor, me:

I am breaking the rules I usually have in place regarding how I publish out new passion project things.

Typically, I inform everyone, links are shared, and so on.

That is not what is happening this time.

This time, when the book releases, the only place I will be announcing it will be in my Patreon store, when a copy of the book will be made available for release two weeks after the book’s publication date.

Why two weeks?

Simple.

I will be leaving you clues, in various blog posts, that will enable you to find the book. There will be a form available on my website where you can submit your guesses. Everyone who correctly guesses the author and the title of the book will be emailed a short story. (For those who do not correctly guess, never fear! You will not be missing out. The short story will be made available to everypony on the website of the passion pen name two weeks after publication. (Thus falling into line with the Patreon store release.)

Yes, I will be keeping this specific pen name and imprint separate, yes, I will not be doing announcements regarding her. She will be launched out of Patreon (and offered to Patreon subscribers as normal) but with the imprint’s two week rule; unlike all the rest of my books, Patreon will not receive the book until two weeks after the release.

Why am I doing this?

I want peace and quiet about this pen name. This pen name is my happy and calm place. It is being done with my personal money and has zero business requirements or retail expectations. Instead of planning a vacation this year, we’re doing a staycation, and I’m taking a large chunk of the money we would have spent on a vacation to work on these books. (With husband’s blessing, of course.) I am 100% doing this for me and only me. You will be able to do the regular things to follow said pen name: the pen name will have a website, the imprint itself will also have a website. Future new books / series that fall under the same genre will be listed under the new imprint as well. (To keep like with like.)

Yes, it is a new venture in writing styles for me, which is part of why it is a passion project.

But at the end of the day, I want peace, quiet, and zero expectations for working with this pen name. The reality is this: while there is absolutely some audience cross-over, it’s not a typical me book. The stories will be lacking certain elements that are known and expected from my stories. Yes, there will be humor still, but it will be a different sort of humor. Yes, they will have happily ever afters.

But enough is different I would have needed to pen name this anyway… and it’s different enough I would be facing an audience rebuild anyway.

So, for now, I’m letting you know that I am doing this, I am doing this strictly in my free / spare time, and that I will be notifying the blog (and Patreon) of when the game begins.

Spicy Ponies with Bite will be reading along as I work on the project, but they will not be receiving the book’s title, the book’s author, and so on… and I will be replacing the critical names (lead characters and names found in description, series name, or titles) with placeholder text.

This falls heavily in the fun and games category, so yes… you will be able to find out who the pen name is through the Patreon store, but that is the only place I’m “announcing” the work outside of the game.

(Obviously, the pen name will be doing her own stuff, advertising as she is allotted funds, and so on. She will not be getting a big budget, but she will have a baby budget because she’s a baby passion project.)

But that is your first real clue: the pen name will be a female.

And no, there is no point in looking yet. I do not even have the covers in hand yet. We’re just working on the concepts for them at this stage. When you can search with any hope of finding something, I will let you know.

And yes… this is absolutely a holiday gift to myself, and it is sparking a great deal of joy.